


Compel My Strength

by Persiflage



Series: Skoulson RomFest [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Awesome Skye (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Co-Directing is Hot, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Kissing, Older Man/Younger Woman, POV Phil Coulson, Prompt Fill, Resolved Sexual Tension, Skoulson RomFest 2k15, Skye's Superpowers, Slow Build, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-12
Updated: 2015-01-18
Packaged: 2018-03-07 00:25:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3153938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflage/pseuds/Persiflage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The development of Coulson and Skye's relationship in a series of vignettes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Joint Interrogation (post 2:05)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tayryn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tayryn/gifts).



> This was written for the Skoulson RomFest 2k15 organised by fuckyeahskoulson on Tumblr. I've written a vignette for one or more prompts for each of the seven days, each prompt fill will get a chapter to itself. The rating WILL go up on the last chapter, until then though, Teen and Up is applicable.

"I want you in on this," Coulson tells Skye as they walk into his office together.

She stops dead and turns to look at him. "Me?"

He puts his hand to the small of her back, urging her towards the couch. "Yes, you."

She frowns. "Why? I've never done anything like an interrogation."

"Exactly. You have to start somewhere."

"Why?" she asks again. "Interrogation's got nothing to do with comms or computers."

"No, it's an entirely different skillset, but I really want you to expand on yours – I don't want you to be restricted to just comms and computers."

She pulls her feet up to sit crosslegged beside him, then turns towards him. "I don't understand." She sounds almost plaintive he thinks.

"Skye, you're an excellent agent, and I don't want to waste your talents. You're very good at reading people, and a very fast learner, so you'll pick this up quickly enough."

"But don't you need training to be an interrogator?"

"Of course. This will be the start of your training." He reaches over and clasps her forearm lightly. "Don't worry, I'm not going to send you in there unprepared. I've asked Trip to come and role-play with us first."

She leans back against the couch, and he watches her face as she thinks it over. "Is this your way of trying to make it up to me for all those weeks of keeping me in the dark?" she asks finally.

He chuckles. "Hadn't even crossed my mind," he tells her honestly.

"Oh." She digests that in silence and after a little while he asks, "Would it make it up to you?"

She shrugs. "Spending more time with you would help to make up for you keeping me at arm's length for so long."

"Then I'll do my best to include you in more of what I do," he says, "but I should warn you that most of what I do is just boring paperwork."

She scowls, and he smirks at her, then Trip appears in the doorway, and Coulson beckons him in.

They spend a couple of hours going over various scenarios, with Trip and Coulson taking it in turns to play the person who's being interrogated, then Coulson gets Skye to lead on interrogating Trip, who is playing the role of an ex-SHIELD agent whom they suspect is selling intel to HYDRA – which is the scenario that matches the situation Coulson and Skye will be facing when they do this for real.

As the joint interrogation proceeds, Skye gets properly into the swing of things, and becomes quite assertive; enough that Coulson realises, with acute embarrassment, that he is actually turned on by her manner. He has to force himself to sit very still as he watches and listens while Skye berates Trip, and it occurs to him that he hasn't considered just what he might be unleashing in teaching Skye this particular skillset.

As the scenario progresses he wonders just how he's going to get through the real interrogation without giving himself away if he lets Skye lead. He can't change his mind about this though, not without making her feel really bad, and he has absolutely no desire to do that. After the way he'd treated her while keeping his carving a secret, to turn around now and tell her that he doesn't want her involved, after insisting so firmly that he did want her to do this, would be unnecessarily cruel.

He bites his lip, then squares his shoulders. He's just going to have to be very careful this evening, he decides.

He's always known, practically since day one, that he's attracted to Skye, but his feelings for her seem to have intensified over the last week and a half since he confessed to Skye about his carving episodes. He knows nothing will come of his attraction, of course – a beautiful young woman like Skye could never be interested in a broken-down, middle-aged man like him, especially not when he doesn't really have a future.


	2. Nightmares (post 2:07)

When Coulson's compulsion to carve disappears at the discovery of the final pieces of the map, he assumes that he'll be able to sleep properly at last, but it appears that's a vain hope, as he discovers two nights after his encounter with Thompson and Derik.

"Coulson. Coulson!" 

He wakes from the depths of a nightmare to the sound of Skye's voice calling his name and he feels a momentary surge of panic, thinking that she's in danger, before he wakes fully.

"Are you okay?" she asks, the very tone of her voice radiating concern.

"Uh." He pushes himself upright, then gropes for the light on his nightstand, and Skye's fingers brush his own as she finds the switch first and turns it on.

He scrubs a hand over his face, feeling the remains of the nightmare sliding away as he focuses his attention on the here and now, which includes a nightwear-clad Skye crouching beside his bed, her expression anxious. 

"Sorry," he whispers, aware that he had promised that everything would go back to normal now.

She shrugs. "I couldn't sleep anyway," she tells him.

"Ward?" he asks gently.

"Yeah."

"I am sorry, Skye," he tells her.

She shakes her head. "Don't blame yourself, Coulson," she says quietly. "You did what you thought was best for SHIELD. You couldn't have known that not even the FBI would be able to hold him."

He reaches out and clasps her shoulders, then rests his forehead against hers. "I just wanted him out of the basement," he says. "I didn't want you to have to see him ever again."

"I know that," she says quickly. "I don't blame you for what's happened. Ward is Ward."

She gives a shiver and he asks tentatively, "Do you want to stay here for a bit?"

"Can I?" 

She sounds hesitant he thinks as he shifts across the bed, then lifts the covers, and she slips in beside him.

"Thanks."

"Were you working?" he asks.

"Yeah." She shifts a little closer to him, and he slides an arm around her, tugging her closer, the almost darkness and the fact it's the middle of the night making him bolder than he'd dare to be in the daylight.

"I've got a couple of searches going for Ward – I'm using the facial recognition software. It probably won't help, but I figure anything is worth a shot."

"Yes it is," he tells her. "That was a good idea."

"Thanks."

"Will you need to go back to it tonight?" 

"No."

"Stay here until the morning then, if you want."

"Is that wise, Director?" she asks. "Suppose someone sees me coming out of your room in the morning?"

"You're right of course," he agrees, annoyed with himself for being selfish. "I'm sorry, Skye, I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay," she says softly. "I'll stay until you fall asleep again."

"Thank you."

She gives him a soft smile, then reaches out to switch off the light before snuggling up closer, her head on his left shoulder and her right arm across his chest. She places her hand over his heart and he feels content, and more peaceful than he can remember feeling for a long time.

He feels himself drifting towards sleep with a smile on his face.

AC-S-AC-S-AC

He wakes a couple of hours later to the realisation that Skye's still in his bed, and that it's apparently her turn for a nightmare as she thrashes violently beside him.

She wakes up crying, great silent sobs that shake her whole frame, and he doesn't hesitate to pull her into his arms to soothe her as best he can.

"Skye. Skye. Skye." He keeps repeating her name as he rubs her back between her shoulder blades, and gradually her heaving sobs slow, then stop, and she lies quiescent in his arms.

"Sorry," she says. "I didn't mean to fall asleep in here."

"Shh. It's okay," he tells her softly. "I'm glad I was here for you."

"Me too." She shifts beside him, and he loosens his arms a little so that she can move and make herself comfortable. They end up spooning, Skye's back against his chest, and his arms around her middle.

"You don't mind if I stay?" she asks, sounding sleepy.

"Not a bit," he tells her. "This is nice."

"Yeah."

He presses a kiss to her hair and allows himself to start drifting towards sleep again; a small part of him wishes Skye would sleep with him every night, even though he knows it would be inadvisable – he wants her too much, and he know that he'd have a hard time hiding that from her.

Tonight, though, he wills away all thoughts of what he'd like to do with Skye, of what he'd like her to do to him, and concentrates instead on falling asleep again – preferably without further nightmares for either of them.


	3. Coulson Cooks (post 2:10/future fic)

"What are you doing?"

Coulson looks up at the sound of Skye's voice as she pads into the Playground's kitchen early one morning.

He rolls his eyes. "I was attempting to make you a surprise cake," he tells her.

"Oh." She blinks at him, then crosses to pour herself some of the coffee he'd made ten minutes earlier. She yawns discreetly behind her hand, then takes a sip of her drink. "Why are you trying to make me a surprise cake?"

He gives a shrug, embarrassed now that she's caught him in the act. "I thought you'd like it?"

She walks across to where he's standing mixing the ingredients, and leans against his arm. He has to swallow hard at the surge of arousal he feels as her breasts brush against his arm. She's wearing a sweater and pyjama pants, her usual sleep attire, which he's now seen her in a number of times, but it doesn't get any easier. Part of him thinks it's ridiculous that he can be so turned on by what she's wearing now, but it's less about the clothes than it is about Skye – she's a gorgeous young woman, and he's old, but he's not dead, well, only technically. 

"What sort of cake?" she asks, apparently oblivious to the effect her proximity might be having on him.

"Chocolate fudge cake," he says.

She moans softly and the sound goes straight to his groin in the most embarrassing manner, and he finds himself willing her to go away, to head to his office to begin work, or back to her bunk to get changed for her morning sparring session with May. Much as he loves her company, he's terrified that she'll notice what state he's in, and then she'll never been easy with him again.

"I'll leave you to it, shall I?" she asks, as if picking up on his thoughts.

"Well," he says a little reluctantly, "I do want to get this done before the others start invading the kitchen."

She smiles at him, then grabs his shoulder long enough to press a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you, Coulson. I look forward to eating it later."

"You're welcome." He leans over and presses a brief kiss against her forehead. "See you later."

She nods, then turns away, and Coulson breathes a sigh of gratitude and relief, before turning his attention back to his task. Once Skye's safely out of sight, he pauses a moment to adjust himself, then he grabs the next thing he needs.

AC-S-AC-S-AC

The cake sits on the conference table, taunting him all morning – he'd forgotten Skye had arranged to spend this morning in the lab with Simmons, having her monthly check-up to ensure she's in good health following her encounter with the Diviner. When she comes into his office at lunchtime bearing a large plate of sandwiches and pot of coffee on a tray, he brightens up considerably, and the fact Skye's wearing the red dress she wore the first time he gave her a ride in Lola, just makes the day even better.

"Hey," she calls, "I brought sandwiches to go with your cake."

He smiles, and gets to his feet, buttoning his jacket as he comes around his desk.

"Better yet, I've told Billy to give us an hour's peace."

He raises an eyebrow. "Oh you did, did you?"

She smirks. "I did. I've been dreaming about that cake all morning, and I didn't want to be interrupted while we eat it."

He shakes his head, smirking back, then joins her as she sets the tray down on the conference table. "I hope you'll enjoy it."

"Please," she says, "you made it. Oh, and Hunter's on the prowl – apparently he found out you were baking this morning."

Coulson's eyebrows rise, then he clears his throat. "Lockdown." 

Skye smirks again as the office goes into lockdown mode, then she pulls out a chair and drops into it. "Will you cut me a slice please?"

He gives her a surprised look. "You want to eat it before your sandwiches?"

She nods vigorously. "I do."

He shakes his head slightly, then grabs the cake knife and cuts her a generous slice, placing it on a plate, then passing it and a neatly rolled napkin to her. "Did you make these?" he asks, gesturing at the sandwiches.

She chuckles. "No, Billy made them – he was making some for everyone, and I just waltzed in and grabbed a plateful."

"I imagine that went down very well," he observes.

She laughs. "Actually, once I told him I was bringing you lunch, he didn't seem to mind at all. He muttered something about us needing to take better care of you."

Coulson rolls his eyes, then helps himself to a sandwich, before pouring coffee for them both. Skye's already started in on the cake, and he bites his lip in consternation when she moans loudly at the first taste, then licks her lips in a very sensual manner. He shifts awkwardly, desperately trying to accommodate his growing erection without alerting Skye to the fact that he's getting aroused.

He takes a bite of sandwich, then nearly chokes when she sucks a stray bit of chocolate frosting from her thumb.

"Are you okay?" she asks worriedly, and he nods, wishing he'd brought with him the bottle of water from his desk, but not daring to get up to fetch it. 

Skye's still giving him a worried look, so he grabs his coffee, intending to swallow some of that instead, but he moves too quickly and slops a lot of it straight into his lap, and while it's not scalding, it's still hot, and he yelps in shock. She grabs her napkin and comes around the corner of the table, and before he can stop her, she's trying to mop the coffee from his pants.

"Oh!" she breathes as she discovers what state he's in. "AC, is that for me?"

He feels his ears burning and his face flushes red as he closes his eyes, nodding. He's mortified by Skye's discovery and can't bear to look at her, but when her lips ghost over his mouth his eyes snap open, and he stares wide-eyed as she leans in and kisses him.

"Skye?" he whispers.

"I thought it was just me," she tells him in a low voice. 

"No," he says quickly. "I just never thought you'd be interested. Why would someone as young and gorgeous as you want a middle-aged bureaucrat?"

She shakes her head. "AC, you're such a fool." He scowls a bit, and she clarifies, "You're handsome, smooth, charming, and you've always valued me. Why wouldn't I want you?"

"I – " 

She cuts him off before he can answer, kissing him greedily. "I've wanted you for ages," she tells him firmly. "But I want to take things slow, okay? I still don't feel totally confident of my new abilities, and I don't want to risk hurting you."

He swallows, then nods. "We can go as slowly as you need," he promises.

"Good." She gives his cock a quick squeeze through his pants, making him moan. "I think you'd better go and get cleaned up," she says. "Don't you?"

He nods again. "Yeah."

She kisses him again. "Can we talk about this more later? I'm supposed to be meeting May in twenty minutes."

"Of course," he says quickly, then gets to his feet. "Enjoy the rest of your lunch."

She smirks. "I will, I promise."

As he takes himself off to his quarters to shower and change, he can't help thinking that making that chocolate fudge cake for Skye is the probably the best thing he's ever done.


	4. It's Not Like That (future fic)

"Skye." Coulson looks up with curiosity when she walks – well marches would be more accurate a description – into his office one morning.

"Coulson." Her tone is clipped and she's scowling.

He leans back in his chair, looking up at her as she leans forward over his desk. "Can I help you with something?"

"You can explain this," she says, and tosses a piece of paper across his desk. It flutters away and he grabs it, then looks down. It's a copy of the order for office equipment he'd given Billy Koenig the day before.

"What would you like me to explain?" he asks, and Skye's scowl becomes a glare.

"Billy told me that this stuff's for me – for an office for me." She puts her hands on the desk and he feels a tremor travel through the wood. He lifts an eyebrow and opens his mouth to speak, but she cuts him off. "If you don't want me to work in your office any more, you could at least have told me to my face, instead of letting me find out like this."

"It's not like that," Coulson tells her, annoyed that she would think he'd be so underhand after the way he's opened up to her so much over the last few weeks.

"Then what is it like?" she demands.

He pushes up out of his chair, then circles around to the other side of the desk, stopping close to her, but not touching her, not yet.

"We agreed you'd take charge of the Index – the Welcome Wagon, as we're now calling it," he reminds her. "I wanted you to have an office of your own to work from for that. It's an important role, and you deserve to have your own office space to work in when you're meeting Gifted or the surviving handlers, instead of having to make do with a corner of my office or taking them to the canteen." He reaches out to touch her elbow lightly.

"Being in charge of the Welcome Wagon is an important role, so you should have an office that reflects that. If you still want to work in here at other times, I'd be happy to have you here."

She swallows, and he can see that she's fighting to control her emotions, and he reaches out with both hands to clasp her shoulders. She stumbles into his arms, wrapping her own around him.

"I'm sorry," she says, her voice choked with emotion. 

"I'm sorry too," he tells her. "I wanted to give you a surprise, once the office was finished and all set up. That's why I didn't tell you about it yet."

"And now I've ruined the surprise," she says.

"It doesn't matter," he tells her quickly. "You know, I thought you knew by now that I consider you my right-hand woman, but if you need me to remind you of that at regular intervals, I can do that."

"You make me sound like an emotional cripple," she says, her voice muffled by his jacket where her face is buried in the crook of his neck.

"That's not how I think of you, Skye." He lifts her face so that he can look her in the eye. "You've been through a lot of big changes these last few weeks, and it's only natural that they might leave you feeling a bit less sure of yourself again, maybe even a bit vulnerable." He brushes his fingertips down her cheek.

"Skye, you are one of the strongest and most courageous people I know, but it's not surprising if people or events make you feel a bit like that homeless orphan who could never put down roots."

He feels her arms tighten around him and he guides her head back down to rest on his shoulder, then presses his lips against her hair.

They stay wrapped in each other's arms for some time, and he gradually feels the tension easing out of her muscles.

"Thank you," she says, straightening up again some time later. "Thanks for understanding, and thank you for giving me my own office."

He smiles, brushing an errant strand of hair off her face. "You're welcome. You've earned it, anyway."

"Will you show me where it's going to be?"

"Of course."

They head out of his office and up the stairs, and he wonders again about suggesting to her that she take some time off. He can't help feeling it would do her some good after all she's been through since San Juan. He makes a note to suggest it to her later.


	5. Trapped; On the Field Together (future fic)

"Are you okay?"

Skye's anxious enquiry is tinged with guilt, Coulson notes, and he wishes he'd been a little bit quicker a few minutes ago. He hates worrying her – knows how hard it is for her not to feel guilty any time any of their team gets hurt when they're in the field with her: Trip's death casts a long shadow still; it's been six months since they lost him in San Juan, but Skye still blames herself for his death.

"I'll live," he tells her as cheerily as he can. "It's just a flesh wound."

She deserts her post by the barn door, abandoning her attempt to see if either the HYDRA guy with the knife-throwing knack, or any of their team is going to follow them here, and comes to take a look at the knife wound on his left forearm.

"I should take care of this," she tells him, and pulls the first aid kit she always carries in the field from her jacket pocket.

"Thanks." He sits down on an upturned bucket and Skye kneels beside him to work. "Did May or Bobbi see us come in here, do you think?"

"I don't know," she tells him, clearly distracted by her efforts to clean the knife slice of blood before she applies a dressing.

"Who knew HYDRA had a circus knife-thrower on staff?" he observes, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

She shoots him a look, and he grins at her. "Apparently we're not the only ones employing freaks," she says as she tapes the dressing in place.

He reaches out to cup her cheek. "You're not a freak, Skye."

"You're the only one who thinks that, Coulson."

"Not true," he says firmly. "The team are not afraid of you – they're just a little in awe. After all, none of us expected to end up with an honest-to-god superhero on our team."

She shakes her head. "I'm not a superhero." Her tone is stubborn, as it always is when he brings this up.

He reaches out and holds her face in both hands, then leans forward. "You'll always be a hero to me, Skye," he says softly, then he kisses her.

She sighs, not unhappily, he thinks, then kisses him back, and he can't help smiling against her mouth.

This is still very new, this thing between them, and while Coulson is eager to move on to the next stage, he also knows that he needs to move slowly for Skye's sake. While she's a lot more confident in her powers – or abilities as she insists he call them – and has a good deal of control over them, he knows she still worries about what she might do if she doesn't maintain her control.

She seems to enjoy the kissing though, and a couple of times she's even watched him masturbate at his request, but that's as far as they've got up to this point.

They're enjoying themselves a good deal with the kissing, Coulson threading his fingers through Skye's hair, when she suddenly breaks off the kiss, then flings herself across the barn to the doors.

"Someone's coming."

He crosses to join her, moving rather more slowly, and they peer outside.

"Damn," he says very softly.

"Yeah," Skye agrees heavily.

Jack the Knife – and who, Coulson had wondered on first encountering him, would call himself that if they weren't a bit weird – has reappeared, and been joined by a couple of mates. One is carrying two burning torches, while the other is toting a submachine gun.

"Looks like they mean to burn us out, then shoot us down," she says softly.

"How do you want to play this?" he asks.

"I'm gonna have to go all Quake on them," she says, grimacing. She hates using her powers in front of other people, especially HYDRA agents, but he can't see any other way out of this situation so he simply nods.

"Are you ready?" she asks.

"Ready when you are," he assures her. She glances at him, then nods, and he reaches out, placing his left hand in the middle of her back, while he grabs hold of the back of the barn door with his right, spreading his legs slightly further apart to keep himself as steady as possible.

Skye closes her eyes for the space of three deep breaths, then opens them and thrusts out her right hand, and Coulson feels the ground underfoot beginning to tremor, then his body begins to shake as Skye uses his ability to absorb kinetic energy to rebound her power in a far more focused way. She sends all three of their enemies tumbling violently to the ground, which then ripples away from the barn, bouncing the men away as if they're caught in a river current. It's a neat trick, and one they've spent a good many hours in practising and perfecting after they'd discovered Coulson's ability to handle kinetic energy.

The men are barely out of sight when the Quinjet flies in low overhead, then May sets it down some distance from the barn. Bobbi appears, and runs towards them, although they're still out of her sight.

Coulson exchanges a quick, brief kiss with Skye, then they push open the doors and hurry forward, meeting Bobbi half way to the jet.

AC-S-AC-S-AC

Once the Diviner they've recovered is locked safely away, and Coulson's knife wound has been examined and pronounced in good shape, they settle back into Coulson's, or rather their shared, office, and he crosses to the record player to sort through the box of vinyl discs. He smirks a little when he finds the one he's looking for, and sets it on the turntable. Moments later Bobby Darin's voice echoes around the room, and he sees Skye lift her head to listen:

_Oh the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear_  
 _and it shows them pearly white_  
 _Just a jackknife has old MacHeath, babe_  
 _And he keeps it out of sight._

She watches him in silence as he seats himself at his desk, a small smile playing over the corners of her mouth – she'd been confused when he'd complained that the HYDRA guy should really be calling himself 'Mack' the Knife, not Jack, until he'd told her of this record, and promised to play it for her on their return to the Playground. He pulls a file towards him, then finds himself tapping his fingers on his desk in time to the beat.

When the song finishes he raises an eyebrow inquisitively at her, and she shakes her head slightly.

"I stand by my previous declaration," she tells him. "You. Are. A. Giant. Dork."

He gives her a mock-glare and says in a warning tone, "Skye."

She smirks at him. "Hey, it doesn't matter," she tells him. "I love you anyway."

He feels both eyebrows shoot up at that, and watches as she realises just what she's said. "Skye?"

She gives him a defiant look. "Well, it's true. I do love you. Why shouldn't I say it?"

He gets up quickly and moves around his desk to stand beside hers. "There's no reason not to say it, if it's true." He puts a hand on the back of her chair, leans down, then kisses her tenderly. 

"I love you, too," he says softly, and smiles at the sheen of moisture in her eyes.

"Can I call you Phil, now?" she asks, and he chuckles.

"Yeah, you can. But only in private, if you don't mind."

She gets to her feet and wraps her arms around him. "You're on – Phil."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you end up with an earworm after reading this, I apologise (although I'm not hugely sorry! *snorts*)


	6. Director/Agent Role Switch (future fic)

"Did you take a blow to the head during our last mission?" Skye demands a little incredulously.

"Skye," Coulson remonstrates. "Of course I didn't – you should know, you were right beside me the whole time."

She turns to May. "You haven't noticed any symptoms of madness, have you?"

May surprises them both by chuckling. "He's as sane as you or I, Skye."

The younger woman boggles at them both in disbelief. "You can't possibly be serious about making me Co-Director," she says. "But it's not April Fool's, so it's not a prank."

"Of course not," Coulson tells her. "I'm perfectly serious about this. And May agrees with me that it's a good idea."

"Traitor," Skye tells her SO.

May just smirks.

"I don't know why you're so incredulous," Coulson says. "You design and lead as many ops as May, and rather more than I do these days. You've got your Geek Squad well-trained. The Welcome Wagon is running beautifully." He looks up at her. "So where's the problem?"

She throws up her hands as she exclaims, "Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that I'm not entirely human, and that I'm _dangerous_?"

"Well, I'm not entirely human, either," he points out. "In fact, technically, I'm a zombie. And you're not the only dangerous person in SHIELD – every trained field agent is dangerous, for starters." He gets to his feet, buttons his jacket, then comes around his desk to lean back against the edge of it.

"I'd also like to point out that despite your obvious agitation over this, we haven't felt even the slightest of tremors since we began this conversation." He raises his eyebrows, and Skye scowls.

"I hate you," she snarls, and May chuckles again, causing Skye's scowl to become a glare.

"Look, I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll have a trial run. You can be the Director for a week, and I'll be an agent for a week – but any time you feel really stuck and need some help, you can ask me. How's that?"

"A week?" Skye asks. "There'll be nothing of SHIELD left after a week."

"I bet there will be," Coulson says instantly. 

"I bet there won't," Skye snaps.

He grins. "And if I win, you'll agree to be my Co-Director?"

She turns to look at May, and sees the older agent's amused expression hasn't abated. "Fine, yes, I agree. But it's gonna be a disaster." She glares at him, then asks, "What do I get if I win?"

"You won't win," he tells her confidently.

"Ugh! I'm going to go and do some weapons' training," she says, then stalks out.

Coulson watches her go, then turns to find May watching him, a speculative look in her eyes.

"You're enjoying this a little too much," she says. "I can't decide if it's the thought of abdicating responsibility for a week, or proving Skye wrong that appeals most."

"A little of both," he admits, "but mostly the latter. You and I both know she's ready for this, more than ready, in fact."

May nods. "When will you tell the others?"

"Tomorrow morning's briefing."

She nods a second time, then walks out, and Coulson circles his desk, then decides to go and talk to Skye. 

She's a lot more secure in herself these days – far less prone to self doubt or second-guessing herself than she used to be – and he hopes that their relationship, which is still ill-defined and has yet to be consummated, is helping her too.

He finds her down in the range, pulling towards her station a target riddled with bullet holes grouped around the heart and the brain.

"I hope you weren't picturing me," he says as she looks up as his approach.

She rolls her eyes and he stands beside her to look at the target more closely. "Good work," he tells her.

"Thanks." She unfastens the paper, then replaces it.

"Do you really hate the idea of being Co-Director?" he asks as she sends the target back to its proper position.

She looks at him, then takes off her safety glasses as she turns around and leans back against her station. "Honestly?" she asks, and he nods. "No."

"Then why are you protesting so much?"

She shrugs. "Nerves, I guess."

He shakes his head slightly. "Skye, you've proved yourself to be brilliant at whatever you've set out to learn. You _can_ do this."

"I know, I know." She sounds a little impatient, but he's not sure if her impatience is directed at him or herself. "I know I shouldn't automatically expect to fail, but some habits of thinking are hard to discard."

He puts a hand on her shoulder, and she steps towards him, her arms seeming to wrap themselves around him automatically.

"I don't know why you put up with me and my dumb insecurities," she says, her chin resting on his shoulder.

"Me either," he tells her in a deadpan tone. "Must be because I love you. It can't possibly be because you're brilliant and beautiful, or immensely capable."

"Oh shut up and kiss me already," she says, and he can tell she's only feigning impatience at his flattery – he knows very well that his praise means a lot to her, just as it always has.

AC-S-AC-S-AC

The next morning Coulson makes his announcement to the teams, to murmurs of surprise, then Skye takes over the briefing. He stands to her right, and watches her as she speaks, her delivery clear and crisp. She looks, he thinks fondly, every inch the Co-Director, with her hair bound back in a neat braid, and wearing a teal button-down shirt she'd insisted on borrowing from him, teamed with a pair of tailored pants he hadn't even known she owned.

As she hands out the assignments he can't help thinking that he's going to get rather more pleasure than he ought to, strictly speaking, from this week: he finds assertive women very sexy, and having Skye boss him around is definitely going to be a turn on. He just has to hope this fact won't be obvious to everyone else, or he's going to spend the entire week awash with embarrassment, or mortification.


	7. Free Theme: Valentine's Day (future fic)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where things finally heat up, hence the higher rating.

"Do you like your surprise?" Coulson asks Skye, eyebrows raised, smirk firmly in place.

She gasps out an agreement as he thrusts into her again. 

"And do you forgive me for wanting to do something romantic for you for today?"

She wraps her legs more tightly around him, then flips him over onto his back. "I'll forgive you," she says, sounding a little less breathless now she's astride him.

"Good."

She leans down and kisses him, her tongue exploring his mouth avidly as she starts to ride him, and he moans in pleasure.

As Skye rocks faster he finds himself recalling their conversation a week before.

AC-S-AC-S-AC

"What's this?" Skye asks, flapping a piece of paper at him from her desk across the office.

Coulson squints at it, then shrugs. "A piece of paper?" he hazards.

She rolls her eyes. "This memo," she clarifies.

"Could you, maybe, be a little more specific?" he asks hopefully. "After all, we exchange a lot of memos."

She gets up, crosses over to his desk, and plonks the piece of paper down on top of the file he's reading.

"Oh, that memo," he says.

"You want me to keep February 14 free," she says. "Valentine's Day." She's practically sneering by the final two words.

"I assure you, the fact it's Valentine's Day is purely coincidental," he tells her.

"Huh." She takes the memo back and returns to her desk. "We don't have time for any of that foolish nonsense," she tells him, and turns back to her laptop.

Coulson fights a smile from his face. "I didn't realise you were so anti romance," he observes.

"Well you're the only man I've ever been in a relationship with who's as ridiculously romantic as you," she tells him, swivelling her chair around to look at him. "You're the full-bore, Knight in Shining Armour guy – always coming up with grand, sweeping gestures – like chasing me into an underground temple in order to die with me, or climbing through the wheelhouse of the Bus to rescue me, or turning the world upside down to save me from fatal gunshot wounds."

He can't help smirking as she recites the things he's done.

"Honestly, Phil, how could anything you do next week possibly compare to any of those Quixotic gestures?" He opens his mouth to answer, and she raises her finger to silence him, much as he had once done to her, he recalls. "Don't even start," she says firmly. "So, do I still need to keep next Saturday free?"

"Yes, you do," he says firmly.

"Then I will."

He'd have said 'yes' whatever his plans were for next Saturday, and he thinks Skye should have realised that, but apparently she's going to take his answer at face value.

AC-S-AC-S-AC

A week later Coulson leads Skye to the garage where Mack has been fixing up Lola. Skye looks suitably dumbfounded when she finds this out – he'd deliberately kept it quiet that he'd given Mack both permission and the funds necessary to work on the car after the mechanic's experiences in San Juan.

"I can't believe you've been keeping this from me all this time," she says as Coulson drives out onto the street.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," he tells her with a shrug.

"Well congratulations, I'm surprised!" She sounds delighted though, and he notices the way she strokes her fingers lovingly over Lola's bodywork.

"I guess I'd forgotten just how beautiful she is," Skye tells him after a few minutes, and he smirks.

"I hadn't."

"So, where are we going?"

"Manhattan."

She blinks at him. "We're driving to Manhattan?" she asks disbelievingly. "I didn't pack a bag."

He smirks again. "You don't need to," he says. "I've already packed one – it's in the trunk along with mine."

She gives him an even more incredulous look. "Wait, you went into my bunk and packed my bag behind my back?"

He chuckles. "Yup."

She shakes her head, then gives a little shriek when he presses the button on the dash to engage Lola's VTOL system, and the car shoots upwards, then zooms forward like a racehorse bolting from the starting gate.

"Oh my god!" she cries. "You've gone completely mad!"

He laughs from pure joy and Skye grins at him, clearly delighted by his pleasure in the moment.

When they arrive in Manhattan Coulson leaves Lola in the underground parking garage of a hotel, then leads Skye back up to street level. He slips his hand into hers and she looks surprised by the gesture, but then she squeezes his fingers and smirks at him, and he smirks right back.

"So, where're we going now?" she asks as they walk down the street hand-in-hand.

"Well, I've booked dinner for us at an Italian restaurant, so we're going to go and buy you something to wear tonight."

"But I have clothes at home," she protests.

"Yes you do – but I've seen your wardrobe, Skye, and it's mostly practical clothing, or combat gear. And while I love your little red dress, I wanted to buy you a new one."

She shakes her head. "You're impossible," she tells him, and he chuckles.

"I thought you said I was Quixotic?"

"That too," she agrees readily. "But, turns out, I kinda love you being Quixotic."

He smirks at her again, and she squeezes his fingers, then swings their arms to and fro for a few steps. 

"You do realise I didn't get you anything, don't you?" she asks after a pensive few minutes.

He shrugs. "Doesn't matter. You being here with me tonight is enough."

She shakes her head. "No, I don't think it is." She sizes him up for a few minutes, then grins. "I know exactly what to give you, though."

"Oh?" He shoots her an enquiring look, but she shakes her head again. 

"Nuh-uh. Not gonna tell you – it's a surprise."

He laughs. "Okay."

AC-S-AC-S-AC

They had found a gorgeous blue silk dress for Skye – it had showed off her figure admirably – almost too well, it had seemed, when Coulson caught the way men were casting jealous looks his way as he led her to their table in the restaurant. Skye, however, had seemed completely oblivious to the admiration being directed at her, and she'd kept her attention on him throughout the three course meal.

He glances over at the blue dress, which is on a hanger on the front of the wardrobe, and feels his lips curve into a smile. He looks up at Skye, whose eyes are closed at the moment, and decides he's the luckiest man alive right now, not least because she had decided that her present to him was going to be them finally consummating their relationship properly. It turns out that sex with Skye is every bit as fantastic as he's been imagining – and he's spent an embarrassing amount of time imagining it, even before they were in a relationship to justify such thoughts.

Her eyes open and she looks down at him, heavy-lidded and sensual, and Coulson groans. "You look gorgeous," he tells her, and sees her flush.

"And you look pretty good yourself," she says, smirking. "I kinda wish, now, that I hadn't made you wait so long for this."

He sits up, sliding his hands up her back to hold her shoulders. "I don't mind," he tells her. "I would never want you to do anything that made you uncomfortable."

"I know," she says softly, kissing him briefly on the mouth. "That's what I love about you – the way you've always taken care not to make me feel uncomfortable – to make me feel valued and welcome, and wanted."

"I've wanted you so much," he whispers, "and for so long."

"Poor Phil," she says lightly. "Pining for me."

"Well I was," he says a little desperately; he's not sure she understands just how much torture it's been – wanting her, but feeling sure she'd never feel the same way about him.

She kisses him again, more hungrily this time, then pushes him back down onto the bed. "Well you've got me now, and I'm going to show you just how much I want you." She tightens her muscles around his cock and he groans loudly, then grabs her hips and as she begins to ride him again, he lifts his own hips and thrusts, and she chuckles, presumably at his eagerness.

"Skye. Skye. Skye." He half groans, half chants her name as she moves above him, her body rising and falling rhythmically.

"Come for me, Phil," she tells him, and he shakes his head.

"You first," he says.

She laughs. "Of course. My Knight would insist on that." She grabs his right hand and brings it from her hip to where their bodies are joined. "Help me out, then?"

He nods quickly, and begins to thumb her clit, and she gasps his name repeatedly, then he feels her muscles tightening more fiercely around his cock, and he knows she's tipped over the edge into orgasm. He manages three more thrusts before he's spilling himself inside her, and then she slumps down on top of him.

"Fuck," she says softly. "That was good."

He wraps his arms around her, and kisses the top of her head. "Yeah, it was. Happy Valentine's Day, Skye."

She kisses him briefly. "Happy Valentine's Day, Phil."


End file.
